Holding onto Something
by vampdevil223
Summary: Nira continues searching for her past along with her brother Sora and her friends. She also hopes that the love of her life hasn't been consumed by the darkness in his heart. Follows Kingdom Hearts II. My first story will be up in a few days hopefully.
1. Prologue: Destiny Islands

Holding onto Something

Prologue: Beginning of the Journey

It had been almost a year since Nira had last seen her brother Sora or her friend Riku. She and Sora had been separated when Kingdom Hearts was closed all the time ago. Nira knew that the reason she went with Kairi back to Destiny Island was to keep her safe but the fact that she wanted to help her brother overpowered that. Also the fact that all the people of their home world remembered who Riku was but they had no clue who Sora was. People thought that Nira had just made him up and even Kairi didn't remember him and Sora was the closest to her.

Nira thought that there was a cruel joke being played on her by the Darkness. She thought that she was never going to see her brother again and that this was also her punishment for searching for who she truly was. But now she was alone thinking of the people she had lost over the past year and the possibility that she was never going to see them again. But she didn't know was that soon she was going to have most of her unanswered questions answered and also she was going to see people she hadn't seen since she was very small.

One night Nira heard the sound of her brother calling her name. She shot up in bed and looked around the room. "Nira," she heard her brother call her name like he was in the room. Her heart began to jump up and down in her chest as she thought that he had finally come home and that what she had been going through for the past year had been nothing but a dream. Nira turned on the light by her bed and realized that her brother was not in her room but she could still hear his voice.

She heard the voice again and then realized that it was coming from outside her house. "Nira," It seemed to be taunting her. She got dressed in some clothes and then walked out of her house, trying all the while not to wake her parents. As she walked towards the beach she heard the voice of her brother in her ear over and over. When she was on the beach was when she heard the voice like it was calling to her. "Sora, where are you?" Nira asked as she looked around the darkened beach. Tears started to form in her eyes.

"Nira,"

Nira turned her head and noticed that the voice was coming from the island that she hadn't set foot on in a year. She hadn't been near the island since her brother and Riku had disappeared. Not even Kairi would go there because she felt there was something missing and until she found that missing something; she wouldn't go to the island. Nira ran down to the docks at the other end of the beach and got into one of the boats. The whole way to the island she thought of what she would find when she got there. She didn't know if her brother was going to be there or if she would find nothing. She looked up at the sky and she could tell there was something going on.

When Nira docked at the island she got off of the boat and walked along the beach. She then looked up and saw there was a portal on the islet where the Paopu tree was. Nira ran up the stairs and across the bridge when she was near the portal she heard "Nira," It was louder than ever before and she thought he was screaming her name. Nira needed to help her brother and she needed to go through the portal in order to where she needed to be. She felt the force wrap around her and she felt like she was falling into another universe; she was away from all she knew and going into a place where she had been a long time ago.

"I'm coming Sora, don't worry."


	2. Chapter I: Roxas

Chapter I: Roxas

When Nira opened her eyes she found herself in a forest. She looked around and noticed that there was nothing but trees. "Where the heck am I?" Nira asked herself as she got up and walked through the forest. She wanted to know where the portal had taken her.

As she was walking through the forest Nira saw someone run by her. It was a young man about her age; he had spiky blonde hair and blue eyes that looked so familiar that she thought she was seeing a ghost. Nira decided to follow him through the woods and see where he was going. The boy ran to the front of a huge mansion and from what Nira could see he was confused about why he was there. Nira studied the boy from behind the tree and realized he looked a lot like her brother. "Sora?" she asked herself. She then shook her head and realized that the boy could never be Sora; he looked too different but she still got the same feeling about him; like she had known him all her life.

All of the sudden, so sudden that it made Nira jump, these creatures came up from the ground; they did not look friendly. Nira then saw the boy summon the Keyblade and all the creatures began attacking him. Nira thought about how the boy could handle the Keyblade when only Nira and Sora were the only ones who were chosen to wield them. _He has to be connected to Sora, somehow. _Nira thought and after a while she saw that the boy was being overridden and she needed to help him if he could get her to Sora. Nira closed her eyes and prayed for something to happen and for her to be able to fight. Then she felt something in her hand. When she opened her eyes a smile lit up her face. She had her Keyblade back. "Finally," She said under her breath.

Nira then jumped out from behind the tree and started attacking some of the creatures all the while seeing the shocked look on the boy's face. She defeated about 5 of the creatures when there was a small break. She saw the boy looking at her and Nira turned to face him. "Who are you and how can you handle the Keyblade?" he asked motioning to the weapon.

"My name is Nira and I can handle the Keyblade because I'm one of the masters. I've been using a Keyblade for almost a year. What's your name and how can you handle one?" Nira turned the question on the boy.

"My name is Roxas and…" Before Roxas could finish his sentence some more of the creatures appeared and they had to fight them off. After about what felt like 100 more of the creatures came Roxas asked "What are these things?"

"I thought you knew." Nira replied.

All of the sudden Nira was backed against the steel gate of the mansion. She looked up and saw a giant keyhole; she then looked closely at Roxas's Keyblade. "Roxas!" Nira called his name and got his attention. She pointed to the keyhole. "You need to point the Keyblade at the hole to open the gate."

Roxas knew he could trust her so he turned and pointed the Keyblade to the keyhole and a beam of light came out of it. Nira was reminded of when she and her brother would seal the holes to the worlds they all visited; she missed that so much. Even when he gate was opened the creatures kept coming and coming; Roxas and Nira both knew that they needed to get out of there. They started running for the front door of the mansion. Nira took one last look before they entered and saw a man in a dark cloak and he started fighting the other creatures. He had a familiar vibe also. But Nira had no time to think on it. She needed to get into the mansion and discover what was going on.

When she and Roxas walked into the foyer some more of the creatures attacked them but they were smaller and easier to defeat. After they were all gone Nira felt an odd presence and she knew that she and Roxas needed to go up the stairs. Someone was waiting for them. "We need to go up there," She heard Roxas say as he pointed to the left side of the staircase. Nira nodded and then ran up the stairs with him.

When they were outside of the room Nira was about to open the door when Roxas stopped her by placing his arm in front of her; Nira looked at him. "Stay here, I'm the only one who's supposed to enter." Nira nodded her head and stepped aside and watched as Roxas entered. She wondered what was going to happen and she decided she was going to eavesdrop. She placed her ear against the door.

Roxas walked into the room, it was completely white, everything was so blinding that it made Roxas's eyes hurt; all around there were drawings on the walls. He knew Namine had drawn them most of them were about the Organization. He got to one drawing and saw it depicted a man running out of a building; the man looked a lot like him. All of the sudden this painful ringing entered his ears and it brought him to his knees. He started screaming; then everything went black.

_He was walking through what looked like a city and he was dressed in the black cloak like the one the man outside and Axel wore. It looked like he was determined about something and that he was leaving the city; hopefully it was to get some answers about what was happening to him. He then heard Axel's voice. "Your mind's made up?" he heard Axel ask him. _

_ Roxas turned around and faced the flame-haired man. "Why did the Keyblade choose me?" That was the question that Roxas had been kicking himself about the past couple days. He was serious and frustrated about the question. "I have to know!" That was the reason he was leaving, he needed to know what was going on and get some answers to his questions. Why was this happening to him? _

_ Axel turned away from where he was standing and said with passion in his eyes, a little worry was also there. "You can't turn on the Organization!" he yelled out to Roxas._

_ Then everything faded. _

When Roxas came back to reality and the ringing stopped; he turned around and saw Namine sitting at the end of the white table in the middle of the room. She seemed very calm; he certainly wasn't. "Organization XIII…they're a bad group." He said to her, worried.

Namine looked at Roxas and replied. "Bad or good, I don't know." She was looking him right in the eyes. "They're a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. To that end their desperately searching for something."

"What?" he asked.

Namine continued to look at Roxas.

All the while Nira was outside the door listening to the conversation between the mysterious girl, who sounded like Kairi, and Roxas.

But when she waited for them to continue she heard the sound of someone behind her. "You were always so curious Nira." A man was standing a couple feet away from her. He was dressed in a red cloak and his face was covered in bandages the same color of his cloak. He also had an eye patch over his right eye.

"Who are you?" Nira asked backing away a bit.

"Oh don't run Nira. I am a friend; you don't have to fear me. I have come to tell you that things are going to be different in your life from this moment on. Also, that your new friend Roxas isn't as he seems; he's different from other people. He's actually not even a person at all. But you don't need to worry about that everything will play out in the mean time." He then disappeared before he said another word. He had been nothing but a hologram. Nira was no left with a lot on new questions as she leaned her body against the door to the room where Roxas was. There were so many things swimming in her head that she thought it may explode.

Nira then heard the sound of the man's voice inside the room where Roxas was. She placed her ear up to the door once more.

"There's no knowledge that has the power to change your fate."

"Even if it doesn't, I wanna know. I have the right to know." Roxas said to the man.

"A Nobody doesn't have the right to know. Nor does it even have the right to be." Roxas was taken aback. _What the hell was a Nobody? _He asked himself. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"But what IS a Nobody?" Roxas asked.

Before the man could answer another man appeared in the room.

Nira heard the other man speak.

Roxas recognized him; he was the man that had fought off the other Nobodies in front of the mansion. "DiZ we're out of time. Too many Nobodies!"

The voice seemed so familiar to Nira. She tried to remember when she last heard the voice; it must have been so long ago in order to have her think on it for a long time.

A portal opened next to the man known as DiZ. Namine was standing in front of it and she looked worried and trapped. "Roxas, Nobodies like us are only half a person. You won't disappear. You'll become whole." She touched where her heart was.

"I…disappear…?" Roxas asked, he was starting to get scared.

DiZ turned to the man in the cloak and stepped forward. "No further outbursts!" He grabbed Namine by her arms. She struggled against him but he was too strong.

"No, you WON'T disappear!" She yelled. DiZ placed a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Wait," Roxas said. He ran towards her but the man in the cloak blocked the way. Namine removed DiZ's hand.

"Roxas! We'll meet again. And we can talk about everything. I may not know it's you, and you may not know it's me. But we will meet again. Someday soon. I promise!" She then faded into the portal.

"Let her go!" Roxas called to DiZ. But it was too late and they were already gone. "Namine," He called to her. But they were all gone. Roxas was left alone questioning things more and more. He didn't know where to go from there and if there was even a point. Then he thought of Nira and how she seemed just as determined to find answers like he was. He knew he couldn't let her down so he sighed and walked towards the door leading to the hallway.

Nira had tears running down her face; she couldn't believe what she had heard from the man. How he had been so cruel to Roxas. She removed her ear from the door so she wouldn't be hit by it when he exited. She also wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't want him to see that she had been crying. She watched as Roxas walked out of the room with his head hanging low. She knew he was scared and so was she. Nira wasn't even sure that she was going to make it out of the mansion alive let alone with her brother.

Roxas then turned to her. His blue eyes were shining in the light coming in from the outside. They were strikingly blue. "You were listening, weren't you?" he asked her.

Nira nodded trying to hide her tears. Even though she had only known Roxas for about an hour; she felt like she had known him her whole life. "Yes," she confessed. She wrapped her arms around him all of the sudden. "I'm so sorry." At first Roxas jumped but then he was just happy that someone cared about him. "I know we just met but I'm going to help you Roxas. I'm looking for answers too." She closed her eyes and let some tears cascade down her cheek.

"Thank you," Roxas said, letting some tears fall down from his eyes also. He was happy that he had someone by his side during this time, since everyone in Twilight Town seemed to act like he never even existed. Right now, Nira was his only friend.

They broke away and continued down the hallway to the other side of the staircase. They fought off some more creatures and finally made it to the other door. They walked into the room and saw it was a giant library with a wooden table in the center. As they got closer they both noticed that there were markings on the table. One was missing. "Do you know the last marking?" Nira recognized one of them as the marking for the Heartless but the other two she was completely clueless about.

Roxas nodded then took a crayon out of his pocket and drew that last symbol again Nira wasn't familiar with it. Once all three symbols were drawn they began to glow brightly. Nira and Roxas ran to the outskirts of the room and watched it disappear before them. It revealed what looked like a basement with a set of stairs leading down to it.

Nira and Roxas walked down the stairs all the while being nervous about what was to come and what they would find down there. When they got to the end of the stairs they saw that there was another door leading to a room; something tugged at Nira and she needed to know she needed to go through the door. Roxas followed her.

They walked into a room that looked like some sort of lab; there was a huge computer with monitors and buttons. Nira looked at all the data on the walls and nearly fell to the floor when she finished reading it. It was her brother's data; he had been here the whole time. "Sora, where are you?" she asked herself quietly.

While Nira looked at the monitor; Roxas walked over to the computers and then all of the sudden the ringing came back into his ears; it was even more painful than before. He yelled and grunted. Then everything went black once again.

_He felt like he was falling into this conference room. It had high seats and everyone was dressed in the same black cloaks as the man, Axel and Roxas had been wearing. Most of their faces were covered but some looked so familiar like he had seen them in another life. But then the vision focused on one seat and there sat himself. He was really part of the Organization. _

_Then it went black and he was being chased by the silver Nobodies. His heart was racing as he tried to get away. _

_Then it flashed to when he defeated the blindfolded silver haired boy. "Why? Why do you have the Keyblade?" The boy asked. _

_ Roxas looked at the Keyblade and then turned back to the boy. "Shut up," He then went for another attack but the boy countered it and knocked Roxas to the floor. His head hurt like hell. Right before he blacked out though he saw the boy coming towards him; he wondered what was going to happen now. _

_Next he was sitting in a teleportation pad, dressed in different clothing, and completely knocked out, still. "Will it work?" he heard the sound of the man from the white room's voice. _

_ "If we maintain the simulated world until Namine finishes chaining together Sora's memories." DiZ said to the man. _

_ "What will happen to Roxas?" The man asked. _

_ "He holds half of Sora's power within him." He began to turn around. "In the end he'll have to give it back." He walked away. Roxas thought that all of this was just a bad dream and that he was going to wake up any minute. Everything that DiZ had been telling him was true; but he still didn't want to believe it. "Until then he'll need another personality to throw off his pursuers." DiZ looked at the monitors. _

_ "Poor thing," the man continued to look down on him. _

_ DiZ sat down at the computer mainframe. He began touching all these buttons. "It's the fate of a Nobody." Then a beam of light shone above the teleportation pad and Roxas was gone. _

When the vision was over Roxas looked at the computer. Nira heard Roxas grunt and turned around from the monitor she was looking at. Something was troubling her friend and she thought he might do something drastic; all of the sudden Roxas summoned his Keyblade. He started attacking the monitors and sparks and parts were scattering all around the room.

"Roxas," Nira called her friend's name and ran to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder but he pushed her off and she slid across the floor. He kept on destroying the computer. When he finished he caught his breath and looked around to see what he had done. He then noticed Nira lying on the ground; there was a large bruise on her arm.

"Nira," he went to her side. He kneeled near her and helped her up off the floor. "I'm so sorry."

Nira looked at Roxas and rubbed where he had pushed her. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." She fully stood up. "I understand why you're upset. Everything's just so overwhelming."

Then a door opened near the other end of the room. They looked at each other and then walked down the hallway into the next room. When they entered a bunch of lower Nobodies attacked them. It took a while but they managed to get rid of all of them. As they caught their breaths they heard the sound of someone laughing at them. "Simply amazing Roxas," The man turned to the both of them. He then noticed Nira. "Oh I see you have a little friend with you," He smiled. This man was wearing the same cloak as the mysterious man. He had spiky red hair with black streaks and his eyes were a piercing anti-freeze green. He looked a little familiar to Nira; well at least the eyes did.

"Axel," Roxas said his name.

Axel looked at him. "You really do remember this time." He then all of the sudden got really angry. "I'M SO FLATTERED!!!!" Nira watched as the man gathered up all his strength and summoned his two weapons, they were chakrams. Then flames shot out of the floor and surrounded Nira and Roxas. The heat was intense. "But you're too late." Axel said. Nira wondered where she had seen that Nobody before. He seemed like someone she had known in her past.

Nira summoned her Keyblade and was ready to fight against this man with all her might. She knew after this she would finally find out where her brother was and get him back with her. Something that was different though when Roxas summoned his Keyblade was that instead of one he got two. Nira recognized then as Oathkeeper and Oblivion; they were two Keyblades that Sora had inherited on their last adventure. Roxas was connected to Sora somehow because Sora was the only one who could summon either Oathkeeper or Oblivion.

"Two," Axel and Nira said at the same time.

The battle started and the flames around the three people got even hotter. It felt like they were on the sun; Axel made the whole floor turn to magma and a line of flames cut through the battlefield. Roxas and Nira jumped out of the way. Nira then got up behind Axel and beat him up a bit with her Keyblade. Roxas did the same thing but Axel kept attacking them with flames. That's when Nira realized that in order to defeat Axel…

"Roxas we need to attack him at the same time." Nira called to Roxas.

Roxas nodded and then took Nira's hand in his. They both looked at Axel and with their three Keyblades. With the combined strength of the Kingdom Key, Oblivion and Oathkeeper; Nira and Roxas sent Axel soaring through his flames and outside of the circle. The fight was over. Nira and Roxas both stopped and caught their breaths but kept on their guard just in case Axel tried to do anything funny. The flames started to dissipate and the room started to come back to a normal temperature. Sweat was dripping down both Roxas and Nira's faces. Their Keyblades disappeared.

Roxas then had another vision when he saw Axel getting up from the ground. He looked like he was out of breath.

_He and Axel were standing in the street. "You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you." He heard Axel say. _

_ Roxas just stood there not looking at him. "No one would miss me." Roxas replied and then he began to walk away with a solemn look on his face. _

_ Once Roxas was out of sight Axel said, "That's not true…I would." _

When Roxas came back to the present he stood there in silence for a second. He looked to Nira who was silent also then he turned to Axel. "Axel," he said the Nobody's name.

Axel looked up at Roxas and smiled. "Let's meet again in the next life."

"Yeah, I'll be waiting." Roxas replied.

Axel then turned to Nira, "I was nice to meet such a beautiful girl. Maybe we'll meet again."

"Yeah," Nira said hesitantly.

Axel then began to fade he turned his attention to Roxas again. "Yeah, Roxas at least you have a next life." He then disappeared.

When Axel was gone Nira and Roxas looked around the room and saw a small portal in the corner. They walked to it but it wouldn't allow them in; the power of darkness was too strong. Nira could sense it. They then saw a door at the other end of the room. Nira's heart jumped up and down in her chest because she could feel her brother's presence becoming closer.

Nira turned to Roxas and asked "Are you ready?" She offered him her hand. They knew they both needed to do this together.

Roxas nodded and then they walked into the room. All along the wall in the room there were different pods; they seemed like they could contain people inside them. As they got to the end of the hallway and were about to turn a corner something caught Nira and Roxas's eye; Nira smiled when she saw who the people were in the pods.

"Donald, Goofy," Roxas and Nira both said at the same time.

Nira turned to Roxas and looked confused. "Wait, how do you know them?" she asked.

"They were in my dreams. How do you know them?" Roxas asked.

"They're my friends." Nira replied.

Roxas then felt like there were a ton of memories rushing back to him. He then looked at Nira with a glimmer of recognition. "Wait, you're his sister, aren't you?"

Nira looked at him confused about what was going on. "Whose sister?" she asked him.

"Sora's," Roxas replied.

Hearing the sound of Sora's name she realized who Roxas really was and what that DiZ person had been saying about Roxas was true. Roxas was really half of Sora. He was Sora's Nobody. "Now everything makes sense and that's why I came here and met you. My brother is here somewhere and you were meant to help me find him." She then touched Roxas's arm when she saw the worry and sadness in his eyes. They then looked down at the end of the hallway and saw the large door at the end.

They walked together to the end of the hallway and looked each other in the eyes. Nira tried to stop some of the tears coming from her eyes. But she couldn't help it. "Well it was nice to meet you Nira," Roxas held out his hand and waited for her to take it. But instead she wrapped her arms around him and held him close to her.

"This isn't goodbye Roxas. We'll see each other again. Don't worry." She felt him wrap his arms around her. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Roxas replied.

When they let go of each other Nira watched as the door opened and Roxas walked through. She knew she needed to wait outside the door and see what would happen. As she waited there in the hallway; she thought about the past couple hours and how much her life had changed already. She had always hoped that she would find her brother again but she didn't know that she would actually meet half of him, a charming young man named Roxas. As she thought about him she heard someone say. "Hello Nira," she looked up and saw DiZ standing in front of her. Nira armed herself with her Keyblade.

DiZ stepped back a bit and then said "Don't worry Nira. I am not a foe remember, I am a friend." He then regained his composure once Nira deactivated the blade. "I want you to know that when your brother wakes up he; you cannot tell him about the events that have happened over the past couple of hours. You can't even tell him about Roxas. He will have no memory of what happened to him and that's why I didn't have Namine take away your memories of Sora. It was so you could guide him through this journey. Do you understand what I am telling you?" he asked Nira.

She nodded.

DiZ smiled. "Good, we shall being seeing each other soon then." In an instant he was gone.

Almost instantly after DiZ disappeared the two pods at the end of the hallway opened revealing the newly awakened Donald and Goofy. They looked around the room and Nira got off her feet in order for them to see her. Nira knew they were wondering where they were and how they got there. But when they Nira; smiles crept across their faces. "Nira," They yelled her name and ran towards her. They hugged her and Nira hugged them back.

"Donald, Goofy," Nira greeted her friends. She was so happy that they were alright and that she had found them.

"Nira, where are we?" Goofy asked looking around the hallway.

"I'd like to know that myself." Nira replied.

Nira then looked at the door and Donald and Goofy followed her gaze. Nira could no longer feel Roxas's presence anymore so she knew I was time for her to go in and be reunited with her brother. "I think we should go in there." Nira said to her friends as she stood in front of the door. When the door opened Nira and her friends walked into the room. Inside there was a huge pod in the middle and for some reason Nira knew that her brother was inside of it. She could feel it deep down in her soul. Goofy and Donald looked at Nira and then they looked up at the pod and waited.

Slowly the pod started to open and Nira saw her brother floating in midair. He had changed in the year he had been gone. He certainly was taller and his hair seemed a bit longer. But it was definetly Sora. When his eyes opened to look at her a big smile appeared on both their faces. "Nira," he called her name as he jumped out of the pod. Sora wrapped his arms around his sister and held her close. "You're here." He then looked around the room when he got out of Nira's embrace. "Where are we?" He asked looking at her.

Before Nira could answer Donald spoke. "Hey, what are we chopped liver?" he was a little peeved.

Sora turned away from his sister and smiled at his two friends. "Donald! Goofy!" He hugged the both of them.

Then Jiminy jumped off of Sora's shoulder and looked around. He yawned and then looked at the 4 friends. "Ah, well that certainly was a long nap." He looked around and smiled.

"We were asleep?" Sora asked.

"We had to be because I don't think we'd be this drowsy."

Nira placed her arm around her brother and said "I don't think that matters right now. I'm just so happy to have you back Sora. I missed you." She kissed her brother's cheek. He blushed a little bit embarrassed.

"How long do you think we've been asleep?" Goofy asked. Nira knew she couldn't answer that question because she promised DiZ that Sora would have to find out on his own.

"Let's see…we defeated Ansem…restored peace to the world…found Kairi…? And then we went to find Riku. I think that's right so far." Nira was shocked; Sora really didn't remember anything that happened to him. Her heart also wrenched because Nira wanted to find Riku and wondered where he was and if he was okay. But she did know that he was still alive; she could just tell.

"Then what?" Donald asked; he didn't remember either.

"Nira do you know?" Sora asked.

Nira shook her head; lying. "I just remember that I was sent here and then nothing else. But I'm glad I found you guys. Now we can look for Riku together."

Sora smiled. "Yeah, we can."

Goofy looked down at Jiminy and asked "What does your journal say?"

Jiminy opened his journal and looked a little shocked. "There's only one sentence." He looked closer at it. "Thank Namine, that's all it says." Nira smiled a bit because she knew who wrote it there. She thought of Roxas for a moment; she would miss him but she could always see him within her brother. "Hmm…I wonder who that is?" Jiminy asked. Even Nira had no clue who that was but she had a good idea that it was the girl that was speaking to Roxas when they first came into the mansion.

Nira watched as all of them shook their heads. "Some journal that is." Donald said, he still looked peeved; wait he always did looked peeved.

"Well what do you say that we find out where we are?" Nira suggested and they all agreed.


	3. Chapter II: Twilight Town

Chapter II: Twilight Town

Sora, Nira, Donald and Goofy went back through the mansion and were outside back in the forest where Nira had been only a few hours ago. It looked like there was a weight off the world's shoulders now that Sora was back. The group made their way through the forest and found a hole in the wall and they went through it. They found themselves in a town; Nira watched as Sora looked around like he had been there before.

Nira went up behind Sora and asked. "Sora, is something wrong?" she asked him.

Sora looked back at his sister and shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong Nira. I just thought…never mind." He shook off the thought.

They then continued to walk through the town; Nira was still keeping her guard up because the Nobodies might still be there. She definetly knew that the Organization was still watching because that man Axel was still out there.

Nira and the others were walking down all the alleyways in the town when they heard the sound of people talking. They walked to where the voices were coming from and Sora looked around the area and felt like there was something he forgot. Nira, Donald and Goofy turned to Sora. "Is something wrong?" Donald asked.

"You know. I think I've been to this town." Sora said still looking around at the gate. He felt weird around it like there was a memory in the back of his head that needed to be brought to the surface.

"What's it called?" Nira asked. She was wondering the same question.

Sora thought a bit. "Hmm…I guess I must have imagined it."

They then walked into the room where there were three teenagers who looked about Sora and Nira's age. They seemed to be really bored and searching for something to do. Nira laughed a little on the inside because one of them seemed to have fallen asleep. They looked at Nira and Sora as they entered the room.

"What do you want?" The boy with the blonde hair who was sitting on what looked like a radiator said.

"Oh nothing. We were just wondering what was back here." Nira said kind of intimidated by the blonde haired boy.

"Now you know. This is our spot." He was defensive.

One of the boys came up to Sora and started looking him over like he was trying to remember something. Sora was kind of confused about what was going on. Nira guessed that these were Roxas's friends and the boy seemed to remember him.

"What?" Sora asked.

The boy backed up and replied. "You're new…around here right? I'm Pence."

The blonde boy walked to the other boy's side and so did the young girl. "I'm Hayner, nice to meet you. But we have stuff to do so catch you later." He walked behind the 4 others.

His two other friends looked kind of shocked that Hayner would just blow them off. Then the girl with brown hair and green eyes came up to Nira and Sora and smiled. "My name's Olette. Hey did you finish up the summer homework yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?" She laughed a little.

"Homework?" Nira and Sora said at the same time. They were really confused now. These people actually thought that they lived in the town, when in truth Nira, Sora, Donald and Goofy had no clue where they were. Sora and Nira turned to Donald and Goofy and saw that they were shaking their heads.

"Hey, what are your names?" Pence asked.

"Oh sorry. We're Sora, Donald, Goofy and Nira." Goofy said.

"Hello."Nira said smiling.

"Hey."Sora said.

Pence and Olette looked at each other then looked back at the 4 friends. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Nira, we just met someone who was looking for you."

"He sure seemed in a hurry." Pence added. "He had a black cloak on so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears."

The group thought for a moment and then all of the sudden the name popped into their heads. They couldn't believe he was here.

"The King!" Donald quacked.

"Where'd so see him?" Sora asked Olette and Pence.

"At the station, it's at the top of the hill." Olette pointed upwards. "It's where the clock tower is."

"The station! Thanks!" Nira said.

"No problem. Well, we better get back to that assignment."

"Later." Pence said as he followed Olette out of the spot.

After they were gone Nira and Sora turned to Donald and Goofy. They were happy that the King was there looking for them and that he was alright. Nira was happy because if the King had made his way out of the Realm of Darkness, then there was a chance that Riku had gotten out also. He was out there somewhere.

"Oh boy! The King's trying to find us!" Donald was jumping up and down; he was really happy that their ruler was alright.

"Yeah, but now let's get to the station if we want to find him." Nira said, they both nodded.

They went out of the spot and ran down the hill. They came to what looked like an arena; there were three other teens there talking. One spotted the group and asked. "Hey where did you guys come from?" he was extremely rude. Nira laughed a little inside because he was the only boy that she had ever met who wore a shirt with his mid-drift showing.

"Uhh…" Sora tried to look for the right words to explain where they came from.

"You here to pick a fight with me or something?" The boy asked.

"Fight? We're not here to fight." Nira said.

"Yeah! You big Palooka." Donald yelled; what the boy said really made him mad. Nira placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

Nira then walked up the boy. "Okay, you want to fight let's go."

"I'm not going to fight a girl." The boy said, backing off a bit.

Nira scoffed. "Alright, Sora, Donald, Goofy let's just go." Then the group ran away from the group and down the different streets and up a hill where the station was.

Nira looked out at the view and it was amazing. The whole city seemed to be basked in light; it reminded Nira of when she would sit out on the islet on the island where she, her brother and her friends would hang out, and watch the sunset. They looked around for the King but there was nothing. Then all of the sudden another couple of the lower Nobodies came out of the ground. Pretty soon they were all surrounded by Nobodies. Sora saw the symbol on the Nobody's head and was taken aback a bit. He wondered where he knew that from.

Nira and Sora then summoned their Keyblades and was ready to fight. As they were fighting it was like the fight that Nira and Roxas had gotten into; they just kept coming and come and wouldn't stop. Nira was hit by one of them and slammed against a wall. Pain radiated through Nira's body but she took one of the potions that was in her pocket that she always kept with her and this healed some of the wounds she had received and she continued fighting. They were all completely exhausted and collapsed in the middle of the area trying to catch their breath. They wondered where these things were coming from and who controlled them. The creatures seemed to dance around them; like they were taunting the four people in the middle.

Right before another was going to attack Sora; he put up his Keyblade but the creature was already destroyed by someone in a black cloak. When they were all gone Sora opened his eyes and lowered his Keyblade to see who the person was. They saw that he had a golden Keyblade; Sora's eyes widened and Donald and Goofy pushed Sora to the ground.

"You're Majesty," They both exclaimed at the same time.

Mickey turned around a little to them but didn't reveal his face. "Shhh," he hushed them. "You 4 have to board the train and leave town! The train knows the way." He got closer to them and handed Sora what looked like a pouch. "Here," Sora took the pouch in his hand.

Sora looked at the pouch for a while and then Donald saw the King running away. "You're Majesty?" he asked. Nira turned her gaze towards the fleeing King. She watched as Donald tried to run after King but he was too far away.

"The King…was that really him?" Nira asked.

"It coulda been…Yep, I know it is!" Goofy replied.

Donald smiled. "Now we know he's okay!" He seemed really giddy with joy that the monarch was okay.

"The King was trapped in the Realm of Darkness, right?"

"Uh. Huh." Goofy said nodding his head.

"But we just saw him?" Sora said scratching his head.

"So that means if the King is here then…that means Riku's here too." A smile went across Nira's face as she thought of the man she loved. She touched the bracelet around her wrist; she had been given it by Riku the night before the darkness consumed Destiny Islands. He had told her that it would act like the Paopu fruit and keep them together even if they were far apart. It was also the night that Riku and Nira had their first kiss. Nira longed for his lips to touch hers again. She missed him so much; that it almost pained her to think of him.

"He's gotta be." Sora said with a smile on his face. He was also happy that his friend was okay and out of the darkness. He was out of danger, he hoped. "Well, Nira and I are going to look for Riku and bring him home. We can go back to the islands together. Kairi is back there waiting for us." Nira walked to her brother's side.

"What are you two going to do?" Nira asked.

Donald and Goofy looked a little embarrassed to be asked that question. "Do you really have to ask?" Goofy asked. Nira knew that this was going to be an easy question and it was also kind of unneeded.

Nira and Sora both laughed at their reactions though. Donald scolded them. "Hey! What's so funny you two?" he asked them.

"Your faces." Sora replied and he continued laughing.

Donald and Goofy looked at each other and started laughing also. Then the whole group broke into laughter.

Sora stopped laughing and then looked around at his sister and friends. "What do you say guys?" A smile lined his face; it was the same for Nira. "Let's stick together for one more journey." They both nodded; Sora looked to his sister and asked "Are you in sis?" he asked.

Nira punched her brother's arm and said "Do you have to ask Sora? I haven't come this far to go just go home alone. Anywhere you three go. I'm going too." She hugged him. "I'm not going to lose you again." She whispered to him.

Sora smiled and then broke out of his sister's embrace. "Now, where are we going again?" he asked putting his hands behind his head.

"We hafta board the train!" Goofy reminded Sora.

"Oh yeah," Sora said remembering then he motioned for them to go into the station and board the train.

When they were inside the train station they heard someone call from behind them. "Wait up." They all turned around and saw Hayner, Pence and Olette running towards them.

"Hey Sora, Nira…"

"What?" Sora asked.

"Nothing, but we came to see you off. I just seem like something we outta do."

Nira and Sora smiled. "Oh well…Thank you." Nira replied to the three friends.

They then heard the sound of a bell ringing, the trains were leaving soon and they needed to know which one they were going to go on. "You better get your tickets." Olette mentioned to them.

Sora walked up to the ticket counter and took out the pouch that King Mickey had given to them. Donald noticed Olette looking at it. "What is it?" he asked her.

Before answering Olette took out a pouch that looked exactly like the one in Sora's hand. "They're the same." Nira mentioned looking back and forth at both pouches. Olette nodded.

Sora looked down at the pouch. Then faced the ticket counter and asked the woman behind the desk. "May we have three train tickets?" When the woman handed him the tickets he turned to face the stairs and saw the train that they were supposed to go on. But he stopped walking.

Nira went behind her brother and placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Is something wrong?" she asked him.

Sora turned to Nira. "I just have a feeling that we won't see this town again…"

Donald looked at his friend and asked "Why not?" He seemed like he wanted to come back to the town again and Nira sort of wanted to also. The people there would nice and she thought that they could be good friends.

"You're thinking too much." Goofy said to Sora.

Sora smiled and then laughed off what he had just said and replied to Goofy's statement. "Yeah. You're right." But Nira could see there was some doubt in what her brother was saying. He didn't just get rid of the thought that they weren't going to be coming back to the town. Nira even held that doubt in her heart that soon this town would be gone.

She then walked with her brother and friends to the purple and gold train waiting for them. "Let's go!" Sora said to the others. Sora then turned to Hayner, Pence and Olette. "Bye." He said to them. Nira watched the conversation from the train window.

Hayner looked at Sora and asked "Are you sure we haven't met before, Sora?"

Sora thought for a bit; he was searching his memory to see if he had met the three friends before in some moment in time. After he was done thinking he answered Hayner. "Positive. Why do you ask?"

Hayner shook his head and smiled. "I don't know.

Sora smiled but then all of the sudden a tear fell down Sora's face. From the window Nira could see her brother touch his face and she knew that these people were Roxas's friends and that Roxas was making himself known by crying after saying goodbye to his friends and there was a possibility that they were never going to come back. Nira also felt sorry because she couldn't tell Sora about what had happened while he was gone or about Roxas because she didn't know what DiZ would do to her, or how Sora would react to what she was saying.

"I'll see you soon, guys." Sora said as he waved to his three new friends and got on the train.

Nira got off of her seat when her brother came on the train. She ran into his arms and held Sora close. "Nira, what are you doing?" he asked her.

"Can't a sister hug her brother once in a while?" She asked.

When they were breaking away Nira and Sora felt the train move and they sat together and waited for their new journey to begin; one that would hopefully help them find their friend and bring them home. Which they certainly missed more than anything.


	4. Chapter III: The Mysterious Tower

Chapter III: The Mysterious Tower and the Old Master

As the train was going by the town Nira saw all the buildings passing by and by and it felt like she was leaving something behind and letting someone down at the same time. She then turned and saw her brother take out the money pouch. He opened it and a blue orb fell out; it looked like it was made of pure crystal. "You know," he began saying to everyone. "I'm sad." He said looking down at the orb.

Nira looked at her brother and replied "We'll be back." She reassured him.

"Yeah. And we can visit Hayner and those guys again." Goofy added to the conversation.

Sora nodded at his sister and friends. Then all of the sudden there was a bright light and the town was no longer outside the windows but instead it seemed like they were out in space. There were stars and different colors swirling with the darkness of the sky. It looked beautiful. Nira looked out the window and noticed that the train tracks seemed to be glowing a bright green color. She knew they were travelling into a different world and that they were no longer in the town and were far away from Hayner, Pence and Olette.

The train then went through a portal and the scenery changed from being in space but they were in a place where there were trees floating below them and the train stopped in front of a towers that seemed to extend up to the edge of the skyline.

Sora, Nira, Donald and Goofy got off the train and looked at the tower once again. Then they turned back to the train and it disappeared in a beam of light. Sora was a little uneasy when he saw their ride disappear. "There goes our ride…" He laughed nervously; Nira couldn't help but laugh nervously also; she had no clue what was going to happen from then on.

They then turned away and walked towards the doors of the tower. When they got there they saw someone looking through the doors. "What's going on?" Donald asked.

The person laughed a bit and then replied. "I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this here tower is as big and tough as they say. Word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer. Which would make him the perfect body guard for me. See, it doesn't matter how tough he is—once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!"

"A Heartless?" The group said as they got defensive, if there were Heartless around then it meant trouble.

"That's right. There these things that come out of the darkness in folk's hearts. Why, with all those Heartless at her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gunna conquer everything! And since I got me a debt to pay, I'm going around a bunch of worlds and buildin' an army of Heartless, special for her."

They were all shocked about what this person was saying and all the time when Maleficent and Heartless were involved it meant major trouble for Nira, Sora and all the other people who occupied the different worlds. This man was up to no good.

"Why am I talkin' to you pipsqueaks anyway?" He waved his hand in dismissal. "Go, scram. I'm behind schedule as it is."

"You oughta find something nicer to do." Donald said to the mystery person.

"Says who?" the person turned around and was obviously shocked at who he had been talking to the entire time. "Wha…AAAH! It's you."

"Pete?" Donald and Goofy questioned at the same time.

"What are you two nimrods doin' here?" Pete asked them banging his fists.

"What are YOU doing here?" Donald asked.

Nira turned to Goofy and asked "You know him?" She wondered where he came from because she didn't remember meeting him on their last adventure but she definetly remembered Maleficent; she had nearly been killed by that woman. If you could call her a woman; she was more like a demon.

"We sure do! Pete's been causin' trouble for ages! His Majesty banished him to another dimension a long time ago. I wonder how he escaped." Goofy scratched his chin thinking about the possibilities.

Pete started to laugh maniacally at the four of them. "You wanna know how, eh? Well, Maleficent busted me out, that's how. And now your world—no, no, no, all the worlds—are gonna belong to yours truly. Cause Maleficent's gonna help me conquer 'em."

Sora put had a smile on his face and then said. "Maleficent, huh." Nira then remembered that they had beaten Maleficent over a year ago and they all started laughing because there was no way she could help Pete if she was dead.

Pete got angry. "What are you laughing at?" He questioned. "Why Maleficent's power is so great—"

Before he could answer Sora interjected. "She's toast."

"Sorry but Maleficent can't help ya now." Goofy added.

"Whaddaya mean?" Pete asked them, he looked a bit shocked. He then realized who he was talking to. "You two!" He said pointing at Nira and Sora. "You're the ones that did it!" He accused.

"Well…" Nira put her said slyly. She looked to her brother then back at Pete. "My brother and I might have had something to do with it." She glared at him playfully.

They watched as Pete got even more angry and he called out for his Heartless.

"Heartless Squad! Round up!"

They watched as the dark creatures started to come out of the ground and surround them. Sora and Nira hadn't seen those creatures in a long time. They armed their Keyblades and Donald and Goofy got their weapons out. Then it was time to fight their old foes. It was better than fighting those Nobodies. These creatures they were familiar with.

Thankfully, they were just Shadow Heartless, the lowest level of the dark creatures so they were an easy fight. It felt good getting rid of Heartless again and Nira felt like she was useful for something. But she really did like a challenge and Shadow Heartless weren't said challenge.

Once they were all gone the group turned their attention back on Pete who looked even more pissed now that his minions had been defeated.

"Just wait!" He yelled at them while shaking his fist. "Nobody, and I mean nobody messes with the mighty Pete."

Sora looked at him and asked. "So "mighty" Pete, who lives in this tower anyway?" All the group wanted to know. But they kind of had a clue that the person was important or the King wouldn't have sent them there.

"You don't know, eh? Well, it's old Yen Sid." Pete looked toward the tower. "Course he's probably a Heartless by now."

Donald and Goofy looked like their eyes were going to fall out of their heads. "Master Yen Sid lives here?!" Donald exclaimed his eyes shined brightly; it was the kind of shine that you see in a child's eyes when they got their favorite toy for their birthday. _This Yen Sid person must be really important._ Nira thought. Donald then ran up the stairs and to the door of the tower; he opened the door and went inside.

"Yen Sid is the King's teacher." Goofy added once Donald was out of sight.

"If he's the King's teacher then he must be powerful." Sora said looking to Goofy.

They then all ran into the tower after Donald; they didn't want him getting himself into any trouble but they knew their chances were slim. Pete was left with a confused look on his face and he started stomping the ground. Nira laughed at him a bit before she went into the tower. She knew this man wasn't much of a threat to her and her friends. Or to anyone else for the matter.

When they walked into the tower Nira saw that it was small but at the top of the stairs there was a portal that must have lead to the rest of the tower. Nira pointed up to the portal and Sora nodded they then all went up the stairs and through the portal to the next set of stairs. There were Heartless everywhere as they descended the different staircases and entered the different rooms that the stairs lead to. And even in there; there were MORE Heartless which Nira and her brother needed to fight off. When they were at the top of the staircase in the last room and all the Heartless disappeared the group caught their breath.

Donald stamped his foot on the ground and looked at his three friends. "Heartless! Heartless! Heartless!" he quacked. "Things haven't changed one bit!"

"Well, it's a good thing we're on the job then." Goofy chuckled.

"So the worlds aren't a peace after all?" Sora asked. He looked to his sister and she was wondering the same thing. She thought that the worlds had gone back to normal but she must have guessed that when Sora didn't come back with her on their last adventure then something must be wrong.

Sora then looked at the door near them that had an arrow on it. Then the group walked through the door and they saw one last staircase that needed to be climbed. Once again, there were even more Heartless then the past few staircases; it took forever for them to defeat them before walking into the next room. Nira could sense there was a strong force of magic behind the door. Yen Sid had to be behind this door and he wasn't a Heartless because there was good magic in the next room; not dark.

When they entered the room, sitting at a large wooden desk was an elderly man with a long silver beard and pin prick eyes. He was completely dressed in blue robes and had a matching cap with gold stars and moons on it. This man was Yen Sid; Nira knew it.

When the group walked up to the desk both Donald and Goofy bowed to the master and knowing his position Nira curtsied politely. When Sora wondered what was going on; he looked confused but Nira knew he had to be with what was going on around in their lives right now.

"Master Yen Sid! It's an honor." Donald said as he stayed in the bowing position.

Sora smiled and said. "Hey there!" But Donald and Goofy chastised him for being so improper.

"Sora, show some respect!" Donald scrutinized.

Master Yen Sid motioned for them not to snap at Sora and then he placed his hands on his lap. Nira was now standing next to her brother smiling. "So, you're Sora." Yen Sid looked Sora up and down. Then he turned to the other young Keyblade Master. "And you must be Nira, the other Keyblade Wielder?" he smiled and Nira smiled back and bowed her head.

"I am sir." She replied.

Yen Sid bowed his head at the girl; he saw that there were very few similarities between her and her brother. She seemed really polite when her brother just seemed clueless. He then turned to the rest of the group and asked them. "Now then, have you seen the King yet?" His voice was deep and full of wisdom that had been passed down through the ages. Nira hoped in her heart that she would be able to come back and get some good techniques on how to use her magic to its full potential.

"Yes, we did, Master. But we didn't get a chance to talk to him." Goofy said to the wise wizard.

"Yes…the King has been quite busy of late. Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing you three falls upon my shoulders. You have a perilous journey ahead of you. You must be well prepared."

"You mean…we have to go on another quest?" Sora asked.

Nira then spoke up. "We were looking forward to finding our friend Riku, so we could go back to our home."

"Yes. I know. However, everything in you and your brother's journey, Nira, is connected. Whether you will find your way home to the islands...Whether you two will return alone, together or with your friend…And, whether or not the islands will still be there. And the key that connects them all is the both of you, Sora and Nira." Yen Sid said looking into the two teenagers eyes.

Sora and Nira looked at each other. "We're both the…keys?" They asked at the same time.

They then reached out their hands closed their eyes and summoned their Keyblades before them.

"Chosen wielders of the Keyblades. You both are the keys that will open the door to light."

Sora and Nira nodded to the master. Then Yen Sid looked at Donald and Goofy and they stiffened and bowed again. He then used his magic to make a book appear on his desk. It was an old book with a moon shaped symbol on the cover and the title was written in some language that neither of them could read.

Yen Sid made the book float into the air. "This book contains valuable knowledge you will need for your journey." He twisted the book around to face the siblings. "There are also some passages that will give you answers Nira. Study it carefully." He warned them both. Nira looked at him puzzled. _Did he know something that she didn't?_ The book opened and Sora and Nira looked at the writing and drawings on the pages.

"Once you both have finished, we will speak of the enemies that you will surely confront."

Sora and Nira looked at the book and then decided to start at the beginning of the book to know what they were to face.

_The Beginning_

_Each journey gives rise to chance encounters, and each counter brings forth a farewell. _

_ When a farewell leads to a journey, the worlds open their hearts._

_ Those chosen by the light, or ensnared by darkness. Friend who share the same bonds, though their paths may differ. _

_ When you doubt the path trod thus far, when the hand you held is lost to you, gaze anew at the Heart that once was…_

_ For all the answers are within. _

Sora and Nira wondered about what the book was saying to them and Nira started to remember something which seemed to be very familiar. When it mentioned that there was once a hand lost to them; she thought it meant Riku was lost to her but in fact she thought on the side that it was something else. But they decided that they should move onto the second part of the book.

_Interlude_

_A long dream._

_ A sad farewell, hanging in the air in that "world between". _

_ What is reality? What is illusion? The path chosen by the young children leads to their memories. _

_ When caught in the stream of the days and nights gaze anew at your steps. _

_ For there all confusion will end. _

Nira thought this might give her some clue to where she was born and what world she came from. Also the reason why she and Sora were both chosen for this journey; when Sora seemed like the more powerful of the two. They then moved into the last part of the book which was labeled "The Future Story".

_The Future Story_

_Will the day come when this battle, born of confusion, will end? _

_ It is different things to different people. _

_ Can the reality be that which is hidden? _

_ The reason is mere existence. Still, memories can be believed. _

_ Be not afraid. Entrust both your bodies to the soothing waves of your memories. By and by, your fleet resting will be over…_

_ And everything will begin. _

After the book was done Nira and Sora still had a bunch more questions about what was going on and decided to talk to Yen Sid further about what was going to be ahead in their adventure. They walked up to him and he turned to meet their gaze. "The book contains important knowledge for the both of you. Be sure to read it." He looked back and forth between the two siblings. "Do you have any questions?"

"Yes we do," Nira replied.

They then walked to the front of the desk with Donald and Goofy. Sora was the first one to speak. "But wait a sec—how come the Heartless are still running around?" He asked.

"Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness; make no mistake about that. However, the Heartless are darkness made real—and darkness yet lingers in every heart. The Heartless are fewer. But while Darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them." The group's faces all sunk at that statement; they didn't want to deal with them again especially if they were harder to beat now.

Goofy spoke up. "Gawrsh, that must mean…if everybody's heart was full of light, them Heartless'd go away!" He patted his fist into the palm of his hand. Smiles came across Donald and Sora's faces but not Nira's because she knew that wasn't possible; it couldn't happen.

Yen Sid nodded at Goofy. "Now it is time to speak of the enemies that you will encounter." He cast a spell and a hologram of Donald appeared to the left of the group.

Donald quacked at the sight. Then all of the sudden a beam of light shown and the hologram turned into a Shadow Heartless. It looked around like it was stalking prey. But everyone knew it was only a projection so it wasn't real. Yen Sid motioned to Donald. "If one, such as you Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless. But you know this."

They all nodded and Donald looked sad that Yen Sid was using him as the example for the demonstration. "The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts. Never let your guard down!" Yen Sid was serious about this and so was everyone else because there couldn't be a chance that one of them could be turned into a Heartless. "Now then…" Yen Sid summoned another projection and one of the Silver Nobodies that Nira had encounter with Roxas and also her brother back in the town appeared next to the Heartless; Nira was kind of more scared of the Nobody rather than the Heartless. She had seen how powerful they were and also very agile.

"At times, if someone with a strong heart and will—be they evil or good—becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own." The projection of the Heartless disappeared. "An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away…A spirit that goes on even as its body fades from existence—for you see, Nobodies don't truly exist at all." Nira remembered what the man had said back in the mansion about Roxas not truly existing but then again she kind of believed the other woman Roxas was talking to and that Roxas was part of Sora; she could see the similarities. If she wasn't bound by the promise that she had made DiZ while Sora was waking up then she would have spoken up on the subject of Nobodies and there were exceptions. She had met one.

"Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse—they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!" He made the last statement really important through the emphasis in his voice.

Sora thought for a moment and said "Nobodies…They don't exist…" He seemed saddened by this and Nira could see the evident presence of Roxas because that had been his reaction when he found out that he didn't really exist. DiZ had been right; Sora was slowly learning for his own about what happened while he was asleep. Nira remained silent.

Then all of the sudden three more projections of Nobodies appeared near the group. "Now then…the being you see before you is known as a Dusk. They are the most common form of Nobodies. But there are others—some larger, some with frightening and unique powers. Be vigilant!" They group turned to the master and nodded, indicating that they understood him. "On your journey you will encounter an alarming number of Dusks. They will attempt to do you harm."

The Dusk projections disappeared and Yen Sid continued speaking. "Still, they are nothing but empty shells, destined to return to darkness. But—" He motioned his hand once more and some more projections appeared. This time they looked like people and they were wearing the same black cloaks as the mysterious man in the mansion and the man that Roxas and Nira had encountered named Axel. Still Nira thought that she might have known his human self somewhere in time. Maybe this new journey would tell her something about how she knew Axel when he was human.

Nira could see that her brother and friends didn't feel good around the creatures and they backed up. Nira stayed in her place looking at the projections.

"The beings that you see before you now are different. These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII. It commands the lesser Nobodies."

Sora looked the projections and seemed to remember the name of the group. "Organization XIII…" He might have met them when they were separated but Nira didn't know. He then turned to Donald he shook his head. He turned to Goofy; nothing. Then he turned to Nira and she shook her head; she hated lying to her brother but then again she didn't really know a lot about the group.

"While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner. They think and plan. And it seems they're working towards a goal. What that goal is, we don't know. The King sensed the danger, and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the Dark Realm's Keyblade, and with it, closed the door. Now he's travelling from world to world, fighting the Heartless as he seeks to answer the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII."

The projections vanished.

Nira looked at her friends and brother and suggested. "I guess we should first find the King."

"But where could he be?" Donald asked.

"Well, we won't know 'till we look." Goofy added.

"You're right," Sora said. "And the King must know where Riku is, cause the two of them were together in the realm of darkness when we closed the door. You know, after defeating Ansem."

Yen Sid motioned over to a door. "So, before you go, you will need more suitable travelling clothes." Sora looked down at his outfit. "Those look a bit too small for you, Sora." He looked at the door. "Through the door you will find three good fairies. If you ask they will create more appropriate garments for you."

"He's right Sora, you have grown." Nira said examining her brother. He looked different from when she had last seen him; more mature in fact.

"Uh…I guess," Sora said laughing. He was sort of embarrassed.

When they entered the room they saw three women gathered around each other talking. They looked all the same age and were wearing similar dresses but the color was different. One was wearing red, one green and one blue.

"Me, Nira, you guys, Riku and the King. I don't care what this Organization is planning. With the six of us, there's nothing to worry about. Right?" he asked.

Nira placed a hand on Sora's shoulder and nodded.

"Yeah," they said together

That was when the fairies noticed they were there they walked up to the 4 people.

"Well look who's here, dears. Sora, Nira, Donald and Goofy."

"Oh if you're looking for clothes you've come to the right place."

One ushered Nira down to a chair and Goofy and Donald stood near the wall. Nira leaned her head on the table and watched as the fairies looked Sora over. To see what could be done with this clothing.

"I'll do the designing." The one dressed in green said happily. She then pointed her wand at Sora and his outfit turned green.

"Oh that will never do." The blue dressed one said. She then pointed her wand at Sora and his outfit turned blue.

"Now, now, dears." The red dressed one turned Sora's outfit red and after some fighting and Nira, Donald and Goofy laughing; Sora was getting agitated. But he dare not say anything.

While this kept going on Nira heard the sound of squawking in the background. She turned and looked up to a window; there sat Diablo, Maleficent's raven. Nira shook her head for a moment thinking she was seeing things but it was still there when she opened her eyes. She turned around fast and said under her breath. "Oh, no." Maleficent was back and due to Nira's past experience with the sorceress; she didn't think this was a good thing because the last time Maleficent wanted to take the magic that lied within Nira because she thought it was powerful; like nothing she had ever seen. She focused back on her brother who looked like he had, had enough.

He sighed and then said. "Would you just decide?" he asked them.

The fairies seemed insulted by how he snapped at them like that. But then they looked at each other and nodded their heads. "Alright, then. Together now, dears. And no more squabbling." The one dressed in red said.

They pointed their wands at once and then a bright light radiated off of Sora and when it faded he was wearing a completely new outfit. It looked good on him. Nira got off of her chair and walked over to her brother to get a closer look.

"Oh my."

"Ooh, it looks lovely."

"Oh yes, he does look very dashing."

"Yeah bro, you look good." Nira said looking at him up and down.

They smiled at each other and then Sora posed and summoned his Keyblade. He looked like a person who could save the world, again.

"Now those aren't normal garments."

"They have very special powers."

The Red Fairy placed an orb in front of Sora. "Take the orb dear." Sora lifted his hand and the orb absorbed into his body. Another one appeared in front of Nira. "You can take one too." She smiled at her.

"Now watch what happens."

All of the sudden Nira and Sora's clothing turned a different color and they were holding two Keyblades. Nira and Sora were shocked by their change in appearance and were also excited.

"Wow." Donald said.

"Two Keyblades each," Goofy remarked.

"This journey is going to be twice as difficult as your last."

Sora and Nira looked exhausted because they really weren't looking forward to what was coming.

"Your garments also have other powers—but you will have to discover them as you continue on your journey." The fairy turned to Nira. "I'm so sorry Nira but you will only have this form since you are already familiar with magic; only one is needed." She seemed sad about that.

Nira smiled. "It's fine mamn." She said in response. Nira was perfectly fine with one power garment.

"Okay. Nira and I will do our bests. And thanks a lot."

"Oh, and there's something else for you. From Master Yen Sid."

Goofy and Donald looked at each other and smiled. They had a feeling of what the gift was.

After they left the room Nira and Sora's forms faded and they knew they would have to get stronger in order to use them again. When they were back in Yen Sid's study they saw him standing by a window looking out at the surroundings. He gestured for them to come near him and they obeyed. He looked back out at the window and the Gummi Ship appeared near the window. Smiles crept across all their faces.

"Hey! It's the Gummi Ship!" Donald exclaimed and Goofy jumped in the air.

They ran towards the window at top speed and looked at the ship they hadn't seen in such a long time. A lot of memories had been made there and also it had taken them to a lot of other worlds that needed saving.

Sora turned to his sister and friends and asked. "Are you guys ready to go?" he asked them.

They nodded and then turned back to Yen Sid. "Now, now just a moment." Yen Sid said, slowing them down a bit. They relaxed at that statement.

"Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared."

"How do we get around?"

"Do not fear. If what the King suspected is true, the worlds have prepared now pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know…However, your Keyblades will serve as your guides. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblades, return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts."

"Our hearts are connected," Nira said as she touched the necklace that she had been given by someone she couldn't remember. But she knew this necklace was important because she could never bring herself to take it off.

"That is correct." Yen Sid said.

"Got it!" Sora said.

"But be warned. As you proceed…the Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths: corridors of darkness to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds."

"Hey that's not fair," Donald remarked.

Yen Sid nodded. "Yes, now I'm afraid that's all the information I can give you. Go forth Sora, Donald, Goofy and Nira. Everyone is waiting."

"Okay, let's get going." Sora said and everyone nodded.

"Master Yen Sid, it was an honor meeting you." Nira said as she shook the old wizard's hand.

"The honor was mine. And don't worry Nira, your questions will be answered as you go along this journey." Nira nodded. He must know something that she didn't.

They then ran off to the Gummi Ship and they were off to the next world that needed their help.


	5. Chapter IV: Hollow Bastion

Chapter IV: Hollow Bastion

When they all left Yen Sid's tower they saw the Gummi Ship and everything looked so beautiful once again and the fact that they had the ship back and that they were going to the different worlds and helping the people be taken away from the darkness. Sora and Nira smiled at each other as they walked on the ship and all the memories came back to them about the adventures they had in there and how it had helped them get their friends back and find out where they had gone after the Destiny Islands had been taken over by the Heartless.

When Nira, Sora, Donald and Goofy got to the cockpit they saw the two Gummi Ship engineers standing on the dash of the ship Chip and Dale. Chip looked at his long lost friends and smiled as he jumped up and down. "Howdy Sora, Nira, how ya doing?" he asked. Nira smiled at her two small friends and she was so happy to see them.

"It's your favorite Gummi Ship engineers here, ready for duty: Chip…"

"…and Dale!" Dale exclaimed. Nira and Sora laughed as they sat down in their seats.

"Happy flying!" They said together.

As the Gummi Ship began flying away from the world they had just been in they noticed that there was now only one world for them to go to. Nira looked out of the Gummi Ship and saw that the world looked oddly familiar to her for some reason. _Had I been there before? _She asked herself but then turned herself away from the sight and back to the people in the ship.

"Only one?" Sora asked also looking at the world ahead of them. He seemed disappointed.

"That's no good!" Donald added. He seemed a little shocked.

Goofy seemed to come to a realization. "Wait! I think it's a world we know." Nira turned to her friend and was happy that he thought they had been there too and that she wasn't alone in this thinking. But she also knew that his realization was different from her own realization. Nira felt like she had been there when she was small like she had; had a life there before all of this happened.

The Gummi Ship flew to the world and it landed near a town square. When they got off the Gummi Ship Sora and Nira looked around and were surprised at how beautiful the place was and how big and industrialized the world was but it looked prosperous and happy. She also realized that this place was where she had been with Sora when they were taken from the Destiny Islands. They ran to the edge of the terrace and saw the castle of Hollow Bastion. It looked broken and misplaced; nothing had seemed to change when it came to the palace. Nira saw a small smile come across Sora's face as he realized where they had landed and that they had friends in this place.

"It's Hollow Bastion," He exclaimed jumping up and down.

"Gawrsh, it looks kind of different now." Goofy said looking around at the world.

Nira turned towards the town and said "I hope that Leon and the others are doing alright." She thought of her friends that she had met when they were in Traverse Town. Leon and his group had been the first friends that Nira and her brother had met before they went off with Donald and Goofy.

Nira then saw Goofy's gaze turn to the side and she followed. On top of one of the buildings were two Heartless jumping around like they were happy about something. Nira really hoped that their friends hadn't been affected by the Heartless because there was definetly a presence there and now Nira could feel it; she could sense that something was wrong and that the Heartless had something to do with the appearance of Hollow Bastion. But once again Nira kept her mouth shut and had a worried look on her face as she turned back to Goofy who had the same look on his face.

Goofy then turned to his friends and said "Looks like we're gonna have to do some fighting." Everyone knew exactly what he meant and they were ready for anything that was going to come their way while they were there.

Sora and his sister along with their friends ran through the town looking for their friends and they saw all the people smiling at them because they knew exactly who they were. Right now though Sora and Nira wanted to find their friends because they had skills that would prove to be useful against the Heartless and whatever else that had been brought there that threatened innocent lives.

They ran towards a duck standing near an open freezer. He was wearing a blue suit with some red throughout it. He was like Donald but was a little older and wearing glasses and a top hair; along with him he had a cane. He had his back turned to the group.

"Uncle Scrooge?!" Donald asked, he seemed shocked like he hadn't seen him in years.

Sora turned to Donald and asked "Er…who?"

Goofy turned to Sora. "He's Donald's uncle—a business typhoon! Before the Heartless showed up, he traveled the worlds on a Gummi Ship with the King. He was helpin' to set up a traffic system."

Donald stomped his foot. "A transit system!" He seemed mad about that.

"What's all the racket?!" Scrooge asked as he turned around and saw the four people who were behind him. He was holding something in his hand. It looked like ice cream. A smile came across the elder duck's face. "Why, if it isn't Donald! And Goofy! Hello, lads." He seemed happy to see them all. "And you all look hale and hearty."

"So do you Uncle Scrooge." Donald said to his uncle, his tone had calmed down a bit.

"Ah, If only I were…I can't seem to recreate my favorite old time ice cream. I'd make millions if I just got it right…" Scrooge licked the ice cream; his face fell. "Terrible," He looked back at the four of them.

They then took their leave and continued looking for their friends. The group ran down some steps near Scrooge. When they were at the bottom of the stairs they continued to walk through the town and when they walked into a part of the city that looked like it held people they could see everything was open and less crowded. They looked around for a couple moments and then all of the sudden this thing appeared in front of them and made a buzzing noise. Sora and Nira jumped back. There were a lot of the buzzing sounds around them.

Donald looked at them and asked "Hey, what's going on?" If these things were creatures then he had never seen them before.

"That's the town's defense mechanism."

The group heard someone call off in the distance. They looked around and smiles came across their faces when they realized who had been talking to them. Standing above them at the top of a set of stairs was a friend they hadn't seen in a while.

"Yuffie!" Nira called out to her friend. Yuffie hadn't changed much except her outfit had changed and she was a bit taller than when she had last seen her. She was wearing all black and her shirt had a pattern of flowers on it and showed her mid-drift. Nira could see the joy on Sora's face also that she was okay and they hoped that the Heartless hadn't gotten to the rest of their friends.

Yuffie waved to them and then her expression changed to shock when she yelled. "Look out!"

From behind a Dusk had appeared. Sora turned around and killed the creature and it disappeared from sight. Then about five more of the creatures appeared out of the ground. Nira summoned her Keyblade and began to fight the creatures. Nira during the fight also used some of the magic she had gained from coming back into the other worlds. It felt good to use it again and she felt like she was in control of herself again. She would freeze some of the Dusks and the smash them with her Keyblade and they would be instantly killed. It sort of made the fight go faster than normally it would without Nira using her magic. Then another kind of Nobody came into the battle and he was even tougher to fight and even using her magic and help from her brother it took them a while for them to defeat it but when it was gone the battle was over and they could calm down a bit. It was one small battle that would be a part of one big war.

They then looked back up to Yuffie and she continued to wave at them. "Hey, guys!" she jumped down from the platform. She looked them up and down. "I see you two are still in top form." She was referring to the battle they had just been a part of.

Sora and Nira looked at each other and smiled. "What'd you expect?" They said at the same time.

Nira could take it any longer and she wrapped her arms around Yuffie. "It's a good thing you're okay. And nothing's changed." Nira smiled as she felt Yuffie wrap her arms around her also.

"I'm glad you guys are back." Yuffie said to her friend as their embrace ended. "And what did YOU expect?" She asked looking at them and they all smiled and laughed a bit. Yuffie was strong fighter and she was also agile and could easily win in a fight. Nira and Sora knew that because they were taught to fight by the young girl who was only about a month or two older than Sora and Nira.

"How are the others?" Donald asked.

"Great!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Hey, Yuffie. Have you seen the King and Riku?" Sora asked; Hollow Bastion seemed to be world they would come back to because they had been there before.

"Nope," Yuffie said as she walked away from the group. She began to run.

Sora's head hung and Nira's heart sank. But then Yuffie turned around, a smile was still across her face. "But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again."

Sora raised his head and looked at Yuffie. His tone got serious and he impersonated a person that they hadn't seen in a long time. "We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other." His Leon impression was dead on and Nira was laughing in the background. She was amazed at how Leon was serious about everything all the time but she also felt that he had an immense amount of loyalty and motivation. Nira respected him for that. He was also kind of cute.

"Is this supposed to be Leon?" Yuffie asked giggling.

Sora blushed and they all laughed. He then nodded slightly and Nira hugged him; she was still giggling like the rest of them.

"Everybody's working on stuff at Merlin's house." Yuffie notified them. "C'mon." She motioned for them to follow her. She then ran down around the corner and was out of sight from the group.

While they were going to Merlin's house there were Heartless that kept coming up and now that Nira was in Hollow Bastion she had a weird feeling around them like some memories were leaking into her mind about what had happened long ago when she was small and how she had come to live on the Destiny Islands. Nira always knew that she was from some other place other than the one she was raised on from the age of 6. All she could see was darkness while she fought them off and before she knew it they were at Merlin's house. Everything had gone on in a blur.

When they entered the house there were three people facing a computer. One was typing something into it and Nira guessed the computer was the one that handled the defense system in the town. All three of the people looked familiar and Nira knew who they were. The girl with them was Aerith and the two men were Cid and Leon. All of them looked like same as they did back in Traverse Town but again they were a little older.

Yuffie smiled at her four friends

"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!"

Aerith turned around and once she saw her friends she smiled. "We missed you." She clasped her hands together.

Cid turned around also. "Well, if you two ain't in top shape."

Leon had a smirk on his face. "I knew it." He smiled at them.

"Knew what?" Nira asked as they walked towards the 4 others.

Leon answered the question. "A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time." Leon's statement was puzzling but Nira knew it was because Sora was in that mansion and because Namine the person Roxas had been speaking with had taken away their memories of Sora, Nira and their group.

Sora seemed a bit shocked along with Donald and Goofy. They wondered why their friends had forgotten them. "You…remembered?" Sora asked the shocked look still in his eyes. "Wait, does that mean you forgot about us?" He seemed insulted now.

"Thanks!" Donald said sarcastically.

"So where have you guys been all this time?" Yuffie asked placing her hands on her hips.

They all shrugged. Nira just went along with her brother and friends because she didn't want to explain how she went home and they had stayed behind because it was just confuse her other friends and it would be a big long mess and even confuse Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"We were sleepin'." Goofy explained to Yuffie.

"Where? In cold storage?" Cid questioned them.

Sora, Donald and Goofy scratched their heads. By that time Nira had gone and stood next to Aerith who she had been close to when they were in Traverse Town; she sort of saw Aerith as an older sister in some ways. Aerith smiled at Nira and she smiled back. "It doesn't matter. This is great…" Aerith wrapped her arm around Nira. "Everyone's together again!" She hugged near close and then looked at the others. Nira walked back to her group and brother.

"So, um…we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have any of you seen them?" Nira asked; she hoped that they had; she desperately hoped down in her heart.

Sadly, they all shook their heads and Sora and Nira's hearts sank down to their stomachs; they had to be somewhere. "Right." Sora said hopelessly as his head hung down. Nira hated to see her brother's mood go down. She loved when he was always happy and making people feel good about themselves but when he got sad she got sad. Nira placed her hand on his shoulder and Sora turned to her. In her eyes he could tell without words she was saying that it was going to be alright and that they were going to find them soon. He smiled slightly.

"Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?" Aerith reassure them.

Sora and Nira nodded. "Okay." Sora agreed. "Thanks Aerith."

"Yeah Thanks." Nira added.

Cid then got in the teenager's faces. "Don't go thankin' us just yet." He looked them dead in the eyes. He got closer to them and Nira and Sora had to back off just a bit.

"Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem." Leon said.

Sora looked from behind Cid. "You mean like Nobodies? And Heartless?"

"That's right!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Sounds like you could use our help." Nira said; she was still looking at Leon and Aerith.

Leon sighed. "Then let's cut to the chase." He walked closer to his friends. "Sora, Nira, Donald, Goofy. We're hoping the four of you might give us a hand around here."

Nira and Sora smiled and laughed a bit inside. "Like we're gonna say no? Come on Leon I thought you knew us better than that." Nira said to the older teen.

Leon huffed. "…I forgot who I'm dealing with."

Donald scolded him. "Hey, what do you mean by that?" He crossed his arms.

"Just think of it as sort of a "Leon compliment."" Aerith said to Donald.

Leon walked passed them and towards the door. He opened it and turned back.

"Follow me to the bailey—there's something you need to see." He then walked out the door.

Instantly after Leon left there was a cloud of smoke and Merlin appeared. He was dressed in light blue robes and a matching hat. He still had a long white beard, mustache and hair. His glasses stood firmly on his nose and his wand was in his hand. "Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!" He smiled at the four companions.

"It's Merlin!" Donald exclaimed as they walked towards the sorcerer.

"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help us out!" Yuffie told Merlin.

"Splendid! We'll count on you!" He looked at Sora and Nira also Donald and Goofy.

"Right!" They said.

"Ah, yes. Did you give them the cards, dear?" Merlin asked Aerith.

Aerith all of the sudden remembered them and looked in her pocket. She took out four purple and gold cards and handed one to each of her friends. "Here, they're presents for you." She said as she handed Nira and Sora their cards. "Leon thought you might want to have them." They took their cards and bowed in thanks.

Nira looked at her card and saw that there was a gold outline of the Hollow Bastion castle on the front of them and on the back Nira found her name.

Nira

"Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!" Sora said with an excited tone.

"Membership Cards." Goofy said, scratching his head along with Donald. "Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy asked them and they all nodded. Nira placed her card into the bag she carried around her shoulder. She would be collecting items in her bag throughout their journey in order to preserve her memories. She didn't want to forget anything about this adventure. Especially if she was going to get information on her past.

"Thanks Le…huh?" Sora turned around and saw that Leon was gone. "Oh, no. We're supposed to meet him at the bailey!" Sora remembered.

But before they could leave Merlin stopped them. "Sora, Nira wait one moment."

Sora and Nira stopped moving and faced the old wizard. "Have you given any thought on your magic?" he asked them.

"I just used some on the Heartless that attacked us a few moments ago. It's nice to have it back." Nira mentioned.

Sora was completely clueless because he thought Nira was the only one who could do magic. "Huh?" he asked Merlin. He then remembered that he could. "O, that's right…" He then thought for a moment on the subject.

"Maybe you forgot while you were asleep." Yuffie suggested. "Apparently, Nira didn't forget." Yuffie smiled at her.

Merlin shook his head a bit. "What am I going to do with you?" He asked Sora.

"I suppose I'll have to lend you a few spells. But be careful with them."

"Thanks Merlin." Sora was really appreciative of his old friend.

"Now to the bailey." Donald said. "And hurry."

On their way to the bailey they encountered some more Heartless but tried to ignore them as much as they could and ran down the stairs to the bailey where Leon was looking out at Hollow Bastion castle. He was leaning against a wall and Nira could see there was worry breaking through in his eyes. Hollow Bastion was Leon's home and she knew that he wanted his home to be safe for Aerith and him along for his friends.

When they were all together Leon pointed out to the castle. "Look at that." He said.

Nira, Sora, Donald and Goofy followed his gaze and they saw that a huge crystal fissure was filled with Heartless. Nira also saw the Heartless emblem on the castle and clutched her necklace. It was a subconscious movement that she wasn't aware of until she looked down. Why had she done that? Maybe Hollow Bastion castle was important to her in some far off memory that hadn't yet surfaced but she hoped would soon.

"We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be. Who knows—maybe even something better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything—Except…for that." They knew he was referring to the group of enemies ahead of them.

"And that…" Leon pointed downward and they followed where he was pointing. They saw two Dusks walking towards the group of Heartless. There were Nobodies within the group too. Which meant there was even more trouble for the four companions.

"We'll handle them." Sora assured Leon. He then turned to Nira. "Right Nira?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you have nothing to worry about Leon. We'll have Hollow Bastion safe again." She looked to her friend who gave her a small smile.

"Well, that's good to hear." Leon replied. It looked like some of the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders, but not all. "So, Sora, Nira does that mean you know what's going on?" Leon asked them.

Sora started to explain. "There's this guy Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless. He's not smart enough to tie his own shoes. The ones we really need to worry about though are the Nobodies."

"And those Organization XIII guys in charge too!" Goofy added.

"You called?" A deep voice said.

The group looked around to see if anyone was there. Sora then towards the opening to the bailey; Leon, Nira, Donald and Goofy quickly followed. They looked around to see where the voice had been coming from.

"You two are doing well." The voice said again.

Sora and Nira armed themselves with their Keyblades. "Who's that?" Sora and Nira asked together still looking around for the mystery speaker.

"This calls for a celebration…" It was another voice.

All of the sudden two Dusks appeared at the bottom of the staircase. Nira, Donald and Goofy went after them. Sora was about to when two more appeared in front of Leon who was armed with his Gun-blade. They went into the area of the bailey they had just been in and Sora followed. Leon tried to stop him but it was too late; the gates closed and they were trapped to fight the Nobodies by themselves.

When Donald, Goofy and Nira had finished off the Nobodies that had attacked them they ran back to the gate that had been sealed shut and she watched as her brother fought and hoped he would be okay. She also hoped that Leon was going to be okay but she knew she had nothing to worry about because she had seen Leon fight and it took a lot to take Leon down. When it seemed that the fight was over the gates opened and Nira ran into hug her brother she was so happy that he had won the fight.

The mysterious speaker started to talk again. "The Keyblades…truly marvelous weapons" Sora and his group walked back out to the main area. "If only they were in more…capable hands."

Sora and Nira along with the rest of their friends were still armed for a fight. "Show yourselves!" Sora called out. He was getting frustrated.

They looked up and saw someone dressed in a black cloak appeared. Then the person raised his arms and five more people appeared. Nira and Sora knew they couldn't be anyone other than Organization XIII; they were the controllers of the Nobodies. Their faces were hidden by the hoods of their cloaks so they couldn't see who they were or what they looked like.

"Organization XIII!" The group exclaimed.

They turned to each other and they all confirmed this. "Good: Now we can settle this!" Sora exclaimed and he prepared himself to fight.

"What a shame…" The lead Nobody said. Nira thought the voice sounded familiar. "And here I thought we could be friends…especially you Lady Nira."

"How do you know my name?" Nira yelled to him. _Why is he calling me "Lady Nira"?_ She asked herself silently.

"That is something you will have to figure out…my dear." The Nobody said and then all six of them disappeared from sight.

"Stop!" Donald cried out as they disappeared and he went to run after them. But was stopped by another one of the Nobodies; Donald was perplexed he looked up where the Nobodies had just been standing them looked back at the one in front of him. "What the big idea?" He exclaimed; waving his wand in front of it.

"Oopsy Daisy," The Nobody said.

"Move!" Sora demanded.

The Nobody backed up and asked "Now do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" His voice sounded familiar also all the Nobody's voices sounded familiar to Nira. He turned to Nira and looked at her. "My, my Nira you've changed a lot. You look like your mother; she was beautiful."

Sora stood in front of his sister with a hand in front of her to protect her. "Stay away from my sister. And I told you to get out of the way!" He yelled; Nira was kind of scared.

"As if! You can talk all you want, but it won't change a thing."

Nira summoned her Keyblade and got ready to attack. She jumped in front of her brother and said "If you won't move then we're gonna make you!"

"See, Nira that would work—if I were just any old dude. 'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organization. Nothing "any old" about me."

"Ha. Tough talk for someone who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkeys did the fighting!"

"Oh dear. I think you got the wrong impression." The Nobody waved a finger in front of his face.

"You gonna cry?" Sora asked him.

"As if. Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?"

Sora looked confused and backed off a bit. Nira knew he was going to be reminded of Roxas so she backed off a bit also; she didn't want to get in the way.

"Remind me?" Sora asked. He then lunged in for an attack.

The Nobody jumped back a bit and then went towards Sora a bit. Nira was ready to protect him; she knew this man was no good and she didn't want anything to happen to him.

The Nobody started to laugh. "That's RIGHT; he used to give me that exact same look."

"I guess you think you can psych me out by saying really random stuff."

The Nobody shrugged. "Oh I'm not just ask your sister. She knows about it. She knows exactly who I'm talking about." Sora turned to Nira and she shrugged and looked like she was almost going to cry. Everything was coming to the surface so soon; she never thought it would happen this fast. "Be a good boy now!" The man said as he disappeared through a black portal and was gone. Nira tried to go after him but he was gone before she could strike.

"Nira!" Donald yelled after he saw the girl fall to the ground. Everyone went around Nira and Sora helped his sister up.

Nira kicked herself as tears fell down her face. "Crap, her got away." She yelled at the top of her lungs. She then wiped some of the tears from her face and looked at her brother. "Sora I have no clue what he was talking about. I don't know anything." She lied but she needed to protect her brother.

Sora wrapped his arms around his sister and calmed her down and then he said. "That was really weird Nira. But I believe you Nira and we'll find a way out of this. But I wonder who gave him the same look because I certainly don't remember seeing someone like that."

"He was just trying to confuse ya." Goofy said to Sora and Nira. Sora knew Goofy was right and that there was no way that he could be in two places at once.

"Yeah you're right. There's only one me." Sora said.

"Thank God for that." Nira said hugging him once again.

Then they took out both of their Membership cards they read the writing on the back of the cards together. "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member—" Then all of the sudden both of the cards then began to glow and float up into the air. Everyone looked at the cards and when the Keyblades started to glow Sora asked. "What's this?" It was kind of a rhetorical question because he kind of knew what was happening. It was time for Nira and him to seal the Keyholes of this world.

They placed their Keyblades in front of them and gripped them tightly. They could feel the energy running through their bodies. The cards rose higher into the sky; and a glow focused around the tip of the Keyblade. It glowed brighter and a crown symbol appeared around Sora and Nira. It then seemed to take them to a place where all there was were the Keyholes. The cards transformed into them and Sora and Nira pointed their Keyblades up towards them. A light came out of them and went into the Keyholes and the world was sealed. A white light then enveloped Sora and Nira and they were back to Hollow Bastion. And they looked around.

Sora and Nira looked at their Keyblades and then looked at each other. "So…that's how it works." Sora said and Nira nodded.

"That must have been the gate that Yen Sid told us about. But this time there were two of them maybe because this a strong world." Nira mentioned. "So now we'll have to alternate between the worlds to see which gates are going to be closed."

"Yeah." Sora agreed with his sister. "I'll take every other world. Alright?"

"Yes." Nira replied.

Sora then turned around to Leon and said "Sorry to run, Leon. But other worlds are calling." He placed his hand on his heart.

Leon nodded. "Organization XIII…they look tough. Be careful you four."

They all saluted to Leon. "See you soon." Nira said before she ran off with her brother and friends. Leon waved goodbye to them and then they were out of sight.


End file.
